Fiji’s government declared a state of disaster in the cyclone-ravaged nation yesterday, amid reports of deaths after 17,000 people fled to evacuation centers.
There were unconfirmed reports of “a few” deaths in the devastating, category four cyclone that struck Fiji’s eastern Lau group of islands yesterday, National Disaster Management Office Director Pajiliai Dobui said.
“I think some lost their lives, but it is just a few,” Dobui said. “What we have been hearing from some of the islands is the devastation, and the wind and the storm surges were too much.”
Dobui said he did not have further information on the reported fatalities, which required confirmation by police, but reports from islands suggested Cyclone Tomas was the worst in living memory.
“Those who have experienced other cyclones say this is the longest and the strongest they have come across — and the most destructive,” he said.
The only confirmed death from the cyclone was of a woman who drowned in rough seas off the second-largest island of Vanua Levu as the cyclone approached the country at the weekend.
Cyclone Tomas cut a swathe of destruction through the north and east as winds averaging 165kph lashed the Pacific island group for a second day.
The main island of Viti Levu was spared the worst of the devastation, but there were reports of extensive damage from Vanua Levu and the eastern outlying islands, officials said.
Some villages in coastal areas had been inundated by waves caused by storm surges, Dobui said.
A state of disaster was declared in the north and east of Fiji after the National Disaster Council, under Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, met yesterday to assess early damage reports.
“The National Disaster Council has declared a state of disaster in the northern division and eastern division,” National Disaster Management Office Operations Officer Anthony Blake said.
“We have so far got a tally of over 50 homes destroyed — a very serious issue. We expect these figures to increase for the next few days,” he said.
The full extent of the devastation was still unclear as communication links with many of the smaller islands and isolated areas on Vanua Levu remained cut. Electricity remained out in many parts of Vanua Levu, and water and sewerage services were also affected.
More than 17,000 people fled to evacuation centers by yesterday — mostly in the north of the country — as the storm damaged buildings and crops, cut communications and power, and flooded low-lying areas.
Cyclone Tomas’ impact was expected to lessen from yesterday evening as it gradually weakened and moved south of Fiji, the Fiji Meteorological Service said.
Schools and government offices remained closed and a curfew was extended until early today for all areas except the western region of Viti Levu.
The international airport at Nadi, in Viti Levu’s west, reopened yesterday, although domestic air and shipping services remained suspended.
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